Grace to YOU from the Father and the Son

The passage for January is Philippians 1:1-2:

    Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
    To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Grace to YOU from the Father and the Son.

It is not an overstatement to say that if you do not understand GRACE, you don't understand the GOSPEL.

The Apostle Paul describes the Gospel as the POWER of God in 1 Corinthians. The Greek word that Paul uses for power is the same term from which we get the word dynamite.

If the Gospel is dynamite, Grace is the fuse. 

- When (IF) we begin to understand Grace, it sets off the explosive power of the Gospel to destroy the strongholds of sin, Satan and self, which blocked us from entering the presence of God.
- When (IF) we begin to live in the reality that we are Grace recipients, it sets off the explosive power of the Gospel to propel us up-and-out of the mire of the useless patterns of the world, into the joy and peace given ONLY to those who have been given a seat in the heavenly realms.  
- When (IF) we begin to understand the magnitude of God's Grace toward us sinners, it sets off the explosive power of the Gospel to shatter the barriers of our own self-righteousness that held us back in the past from reaching out to those we've wrongfully seen as too sinful for the Gospel.

Here in Philippians Paul writes about the "Grace to You" and when he says "you" he is talking about grace to you Christians - the church in Philippi. AND grace to you - individual Christian that is part of the body of the church.

God's grace to us ALWAYS starts at a personal level and instantly unifies us as part of the family.

If YOU haven't realized God's grace to you on a personal level, we have to start there. Do not move on until you understand this piece. If you miss it, you miss God.
Before God poured out His grace to you, your identity was that of a sinner, a rebel, an enemy of God and an object of His Wrath. "BUT, GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Again, your identity was that of a sinner, a rebel, an enemy of God and an object of His Wrath. But now, because of Grace, or what one pastor calls "God's One Way Love" You are forgiven, you are clean, you are righteous, you are an object of God's LOVE and a part of His family - FOREVER.

Forever. 

Embrace that truth today. If you have just done so, or if you have questions about what it means to live as a recipient of grace - a follower of Christ - please do not hesitate to call on the leadership or other members of this church to guide you toward the next steps in faith. 

Now, after you've embraced God's grace to you at a personal level, it instantly unifies you to be a part of the family.

We are not only to be known as a GOSPEL People, we should be remarkably different from the community around us because we are a GRACE People. In other words, the grace that we extend to others - outside of the family AND toward one another - should be one of the most compelling reasons that people have for drawing near to us and asking us more about our faith.

Finally, This Grace comes to us from God the Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ. This is important to remember.

The grace comes from the Father mainly from His choice before the foundation of the World to Save YOU. He chose you before you were born, before you had a chance to do anything that you could boast in on your own. Helpful texts to study about God the Father's grace to you in this way are Ephesians 1:4-5; Jonah 2:9; John 6:65; Matthew 11:27 and Ephesians 2:8-9.

The grace comes to you from the Lord Jesus Christ by way of His many works on our behalf:

• He came down out of Heaven for you. 
• He lived the life of perfect obedience in your place
• He died the death that you deserved to die and absorbed the Wrath of God for you in your place. 
• He conquered death and rose again as the proof to you that you will also be raised to new life.
• He sent His Spirit to live in you.
• He is interceding for you right now at the right hand of the Father. 

 So, as a grace recipient, walk today as a grace provider.
When someone wrongs you, Forgive.
          When someone hates you, Love.
                   When someone needs you, Give.